Musical Ways
by mortalshadowhunter4dauntless
Summary: Clary is abused by her father. Nobody knows, even her best friends Simon and Izzy. Simon's band, Cosmo Forte, just happens to have the two school bullies in it - Sebastian Verlac and Jace Herondale. Clary has a talent with music, but she will anything to hide it. When Simon breaks his arm, someone must take his place has guitarist in the upcoming competition...what will Clary do?
1. Chapter 1: Bullies

**Chapter 1: Bullies**

CPOV

I scurried across the school grounds, my skinny leather jeans getting muddier as my Converses flicked up dirt from the grass. My hood was up and my flaming red hair was flying across my face due to the wind.

"Hey, Shrimp!"

I kept on walking. Sebastian, the school bully, was hunting me down again. Praying silently that he would leave me alone, I recalled the event earlier that day. My locker dial had been open – so, being the super intelligent person that I am, I open the locker and ketchup is squirted all over me. I didn't mind as such about the clothes, I owned the same ones for years as I had never grown over 5 foot and that was the excuse my dad kept to for not buying me any more. But no, it was the fact that Sebastian Verlac _and _Jace Herondale had caught it on camera. And broadcasted it. Online. Oh my god.

"Don't ignore me! There'll be a lot worse than the ketchup...um...'incident'..." I could practically hear his smirk and raise of one eyebrow. I had practised that, but it only made me look like I was swimming in fish slime. My reaction to it, of course. Not that I would be swimming in fish slime to raise a singular eyebrow. Nevermind. I'm occupied with my thoughts at the moment.

Suddenly, a firm hand grabs my wrist and my hood is pulled down, revealing my red curls cascading down my back. I look up expecting to meet the cold black eyes of Sebastian, but instead I see a pool of gold, glinting. I'm lost in them for a moment, until I stumble into a muscled chest. Immediately, I recognise the scent of mango – it was none other than Jace Herondale. Sebastian's second in command. Not that he was any less popular, but Sebastian was more notorious for violence, and Jace was infamous for verbal abuse.

"Aww, Clarissa. Can't resist my charm, can you?" Jace smirked. My face was probably the same colour as my hair. I groaned in irritation.

"Shut up," I retorted, defensively. It was a pretty rubbish reply, but my voice didn't waver like I thought it would.

Sebastian appeared behind Jace's shoulder. "Clarissa Morgenstern. Short, annoying, weak _and _a redhead. What will we do with her, Jace?"

"I've got some ideas..."

Instantly, I was hit with a memory of my father. He had said those exact words a few months ago. He was called Valentine, and his actions defied the meaning of his name. He regularly came home drunk, late into the night. My mother wasn't at home often. She would be on business trips for weeks at a time, sometimes even months. But he began to beat and abuse me a few years ago, every chance he got. Valentine (I didn't even refer to him as my dad anymore) punched and kicked me everywhere. My body was covered in bruises. My abdomen was basically black and blue, save the scars from where his hand had cracked on my skin so hard that it split.

It was only last year that my brother, Jonathan, started to join him. They took turns, and laughed about kicking me. Sometimes they even beat me simultaneously, knocking me out cold. They had knives that tattooed words onto my skin, like 'YOU ARE NOT WORTHY', 'STUPID WEAKLING' and 'NOBODY LOVES YOU'. Those were indelibly engraved onto my body.

When Valentine noticed that I had been cutting, he was furious.

_"Clarissa! I can't believe you would ever do this to me! CUT! That's for WEAK people! Do you _want_ everybody to know? If I see one more cut on your arm, I swear I will kill you! And to think that you're my daughter," Valentine spat, "I'm ashamed."_

_"So, what are we going to do with her, Father?" Jonathan said equally as coldly._

_"I've got some ideas..."_

Cutting was the only way to numb the pain, at least for a little while. Every day, I covered the scars up with concealer. Not even my best friends, Simon and Izzy knew.

What Valentine had done to me a few months ago was that he had split open all my wounds from cutting with a knife one night, making them bleed without stopping. He broke my wrist with such force of doing so, and the next day at school the nurse didn't believe my story of how I had simply tripped and fallen on my hand. I wasn't very convinced myself. But I wasn't going to let her know of all people. Even Simon and Izzy didn't.

But I couldn't hear those words without trembling in fear. I looked around wildly for something to bring my focus back, steer my thoughts clear of that night since it petrified me so much. But I couldn't. I could only see the knife in my head, my father's black eyes, like Sebastian's, and blood dripping.

Without even glancing at Jace or Sebastian, I cover my ears with my hands and screamed.

JPOV

Clary's small frame was crouched on the ground with her red hair concealing her face. Her strength was surprising as she wrenched her hand out of my grip to use it to cover her ears. But it wasn't that that shocked me. It was how she let out the most bloodcurdling scream I had ever heard, even in good horror films. The scream wasn't like one that warns you, but one that was filled with pain, hardship and alarm. Sebastian glanced at me with an unreadable expression.

Abruptly, I was shoved to my side toward Jonathan. Short brown curls brushed against my cheek quickly, and I recognised who it was. Simon Lewis.

"God, Jace, do you ever even _think?_" Simon exclaimed. There was a clear look of worry and fury in his eyes. Clary had stopped screaming.

"Hey, we didn't do anything that bad-" Sebastian began but was interrupted.

"YES, YOU DID! Do you not _see_ her? Can you not see how Clary is barely surviving school anyway due to other kids, but to add an extra ton of bricks to her load is you two bullying her!"

Clary stared at the ground, swaying slight, uneasy on her feet. She grabbed Simon's arm. "Simon..."

"What? Are you okay? What was that abo-"

I saw a short red form rapidly stalking towards me. Unexpectedly, I noticed a thin fist swiftly coming towards my face. I hear the sickening crunch before I felt it. The blow was so hard I stumbled and fell down backwards. The pain was unbearable. I grabbed the end of my nose and swore loudly. Once I sat back up I saw Sebastian and Simon laughing so hard I thought that their faces might go as red as Clary's hair. Speaking of which, I saw a flash behind the nearby tree.

"By the angel, Jace," Sebastian managed to get out between the hysterics, "She _punched_ you."

I still didn't have a full understanding of what had happened. Fist – nose – ow. By default, I thought it was Simon in revenge for hurting Clary. I felt a pang of guilt. What was behind that scream? That wasn't normal.

But wait. Sebastian said..._she. _Clary? _Clary_ punched me? Oh god, he's never going to let me live this down.

"Clary. Punched. Me." I said.

"It seems as if you require the need to clarify it. Which, in case, I don't mind hearing again."

I looked up to see emerald green eyes that held confidence and...what?...hatred. Yeah, figured. She hates me like hell.

"Wasn't expecting it," I reply with an equal amount of hatred in my eyes.

"Well, nobody ever expects that from the weak redhead, do they? But apparently you and my fath-" Clary stopped, and dropped her gaze to the ground. I glared at her, for no reason.

"What do you say about band practice today, Simon?" Sebastian said, breaking the tense silence. Me, Sebastian, Simon, Alec and Jordan were in a band together, Cosmo Forte. "Alec says he has something important to tell us, and it's not good."

Simon sighed, clearly not wanting to be with us. "Sure," he retorted eventually. "Clary, I can drop you home if you wan-"

"No!" Clary angrily responded. With a whisper, she said, "Please. Anywhere but home."

"Umm...okay. Want to come with me to band practice?"

"Where is it?"

"Well..." Simon scratched the back of his neck and shifted his weight onto his left foot, "It's at Jace's house."

Her expression was enough to tell me that she did not want to go.


	2. Chapter 2: Fury

Chapter 2: Fury

CPOV

I stared out the window, desperately regretting leaving my saviour of a pair of headphones in my bedroom. I had my phone with me of course, but belting out emo music from the back of Simon's van would seem profusely weird. Not that it would change anyone else's views.

I never thought I would be in the same confined area as _Sebastian Verlac _and _Jace Herondale_ for goodness' sake without us choking each other by the neck. Well, they would be doing it to me. I would probably flail my arms in the attempt to even swat their hands off me.

There go my thoughts, wandering off again. Into the sunset. Behind the rise of the sun...

_Stop it, Clary_. I only get distracted by the smallest of things when I'm nervous. But I'm not going home...so why should I be nervous?

I turned my head and met with the gold eyes of Jace. By default, my breathing started getting heavier and I looked away, nonetheless feeling my cheeks flush. This was why I was nervous. Being so close to the source of verbal pain...but it was more Sebastian that I was afraid of. _No, Clary, don't admit to being scared. That's what Valentine told you to do._

"Ah, come on, Shrimp, I know you can't resist me," Jace sneered. Why did I have to be in the back seat with him? Why was I insane and not call shotgun like Sebastian? However immature that was for 15 to 16 year olds to do, it still proved to have a benefit.

"My name. Is not. Shrimp," I responded callously, seeping venom into every word I said. I turned to glare at Jace, and I found he was already doing just that, his seatbelt unbuckled so he could have a full look at me.

"Listen here, Carrot-"

Sebastian chuckled from in front of Jace. "Pfft, Carrot? That's the best you can do?"

"Hey, I've got a lot more, but with Mr Protective over here," Jace alleged, gesturing to Simon, "I don't have a lot of options."

Suddenly, the van jerked to a halt, throwing Jace into the back of Sebastian's seat and ending up with him crumpled on the floor, squashed between the metal poles. The crashing of drum cymbals died down and Jace groaned, clearly trying to get up but couldn't. He was stuck.

"Will you ever just stop, Jace? You talk about her like she's not even there!" Simon exclaimed, his glasses falling down his nose at the furious head movements he was making.

Jace just doesn't know when to stop. "Like who's not even there?" he smirked, raising an eyebrow. The jealousy of being able to do that didn't help my own rage.

I stomped a foot down on his chest, halting his attempts to get up. "Me, I assume," I hissed. A new wave of confidence washed over me. "So, Goldilocks, I would give a second thought to what you're saying from now on."

I raised my head in hope of a sign of approval from Simon, and found a wide grin. But I didn't really care. I didn't want to spend another second with Jace.

From the window, I spotted a wooden sign with old style font spelling out 'Lightwood Manor'. Isabelle Lightwood! In the cobbled driveway, there was Izzy's electric red Ferrari parked badly along the side. These were enough signs to confirm Izzy's house for me. I had only been inside her house once, and it was for her to collect something that she forgot for school, but I vaguely recognised the pattern of bricks and windows from the front of the house. "Simon, stop the van!" I shouted loudly, causing him to break quickly with a sound of screeching tyres. Jace's face was pushed up against the metal pole, making me laugh. Realising my mistake, the smile disappeared swiftly from my face and I opened the door to the car causing it to creak loudly. "Sorry, Simon, but I'll spend some time with Isabelle instead of band practice. It beats anything to do with these jerks," I said, pointing at Sebastian and the still flat-down Jace.

"Clary-wait, no-"

"Bye!" I wave, turning on my heel and trudging up to the green front door. I reached up on my toes to ring the doorbell. However, the thought quickly crossed my mind: what would I say? I never had friends, only Simon and Isabelle. Hey, Izzy, even though I've been to your house only once and you probably are only friends with me because you pity me, can we hang out? My eyebrows were furrowed when a woman of only about thirty opened the door, revealing a large hallway with marble flooring behind her. Her black hair distinguished her as Isabelle's mother, and their brown eyes were very similar.

"Hello. Clarissa Morgenstern, yes? Jocelyn's daughter."

I cringed without a second thought. I hated it when people called me Clarissa. Maybe Isabelle hadn't talked about me to her mom to make her realise that I preferred Clary.

"Yes, as you know I'm, um, Iz-Isabelle's friend. Clary, actually," I stuttered, my hands unnoticeably intertwining with each other.

"Oh yes, of co-"

"Hey, Maryse!" someone called from behind me. I spun around, surprised to see Sebastian on the step below mine. "Watch your back, Shrimp," he said under his breath into my ear as he passed and strolled into the house past Izzy's mom.

Wait, what? When did Sebastian of all people get to know _Isabelle's_ mom?

"Gosh, Sebastian, so forward. How are you Simon?" Maryse enquired, and I found myself gaping at the fact that both Simon and Jace were walking inside without getting a second glance from Isabelle's mom.

"Fine, thanks. Oh, and Clary, we need to talk-"

"Uh, yeah, we do!" I posed, putting a hand on my hip.

"Clarissa, you should come inside. It is cold out here, and we don't need you getting ill."

"Um...yeah, of course. Thanks," side-stepping inside beside Maryse. The soft tap of my black Converses echoed throughout the room.

"No problem. I'll get Isabelle for you." _Great, so Izzy does live here. In _Jace's _house? _"ISABELLE! Clarissa is here to see you!"

"Who the hell is Clarissa?!" a strained shouted response comes from up the stairs. The clack of heels against marble almost completely drained out Isabelle's voice as she made her way down the stairs. At first, she spotted Jace. "Jace! Oh god! I need to tell you something, like, seriously urgent. It's about Cosmo Fo-"

She stopped mid-sentence, mouth hanging open, disturbingly matching mine. Izzy, my best friend, was talking to the boy who'd tormented me for years like he was her brother.

"Oh. Clary. Short for Clarissa. Right," she began, but I cut her off.

"What the hell, Izzy?" I demanded, suddenly aware of my hair flinging around my shoulders as my chest vibrated with fury. "You live in the same house as Jace?! Am I getting this right?! Oh my god, I'm going insane. First, with Sebastian, and then with Val-" I stopped myself. _Damn, Clary, you did it again! Stop mentioning things that other people aren't supposed to know! You know what Valentine told you-_

"Clary." Isabelle interrupted my thoughts. "I...um...need to tell you something."

"You sure do, Izzy. And no lies."

"I wasn't going to lie to you."

"Right."

"Clary...Jace is my brother."


	3. Chapter 3: Confirmation

Chapter 3: Confirmation

CPOV

I could only stare at her. Isabelle's face was anxious; her long lashes lengthened by mascara scratched the bottom of her eyelids. Jace, the cruellest of people; the mastermind behind my many years of torture was _Isabelle's brother. _And she never even thought to tell me.

I'm not a total hypocrite, as I haven't told her about Valentine and his beatings. I mean, I have to cover most of my body with concealer every day just hide the most obvious bruises and scars. My hair was grown longer and I wore long sleeves to make my wounds disappear from sight – but not literally. It was still underneath. Every morning I see 'NOBODY LOVES YOU' and I wonder if Valentine and Jonathan are right.

"But, seriously, Izzy. You're not kidding me right?"

"Well...no, but..."

"And you couldn't have thought to tell me _all these years?_"

"When was I supposed to? And _how?_" Isabelle yelled while taking a step towards me. "I didn't want to tell you that Jace was my brother at first, and days turned into weeks, then months, and then...years, I guess."

"Wait a second. Why didn't you just tell me from the start, when you first met me?" I ask forcefully.

"What do you me...? Oh, right. Yeah. Well, you see Jace is actually-"

JPOV

I cut in before she could give away anything else.

"Isabelle. Shut. Up." I seethed. When would she learn?

"Jace, you're not really helping."

Clary huffed. "I'm not going until you tell me what you 'actually' are, you know."

Did she actually have a total brain melt last night? When did Clary start behaving...brave?

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Jace, telling her isn't going to do any harm. Clary knows you live here with the Lightwoods, it's not as if she found out where you kept your Ibanez Jem electric guitar." Clary seemed to perk up at this, which surprised me. She had an interest in guitars?

"You mean you have a solid-body Stratocaster?" Clary said. Yep, she does.

"Only the best," I replied icily, warning her off. Clary went back to staring at her shoes. She looked so...innocent. What was the harm in telling her? "I'm, um, adopted."

Clary raised both her eyebrows. "That's it? What's so bad about being adopted?"

"Well, it's not exactly the jock boost in high school, is it?"

"Stop answering questions with questions. It's annoying."

"You do it, too."

Clary laughed. "That's your best comeback? I see why you need that jock boost."

"Yeah, well...mhmm," I managed to get out. Since when was I, the Jace Herondale, lost for words?

Clary turned to Isabelle again. "So why didn't you tell me? Was this why I was never invited round your house?"

"I'm sorry, Clary, but it just got too late to tell you. And I was scared that you would be really mad at me if you realised that Jace lived with us. Plus he didn't want anyone to know. Which is not," Izzy glared at me, "offensive at all, is it now, Jace?"

"Hey, I needed to make an individual run. Unlike Clary here, who relies on her friends," I retort. _Good one, Jace. You're back on track._

"Just because you're blonde it doesn't mean you have to act like an idiot," Clary muttered, raising her head.

This was taking it to another level. My gold hair was my prized possession, and my victim of all people was not allowed to insult it.

"Wow, Shrimp, bet it took you all last night to think of that one." I stomped over to her and grabbed the end of her hair and pulled it up. "Your attitude finally matches your hair." I dropped Clary's red strands and my hand brushed against her skin on her cheek, making the powder come off on my fingers. I contemplated it, and saw that there was a bruise uncovered by the concealer on her face. "How much make-up do you wear, Shrimp? Maybe if you eat some of it, it will make you pretty on the inside. And we all know you need that too."

"Jonathan Herondale! Did you really just say that to Clarissa?" Maryse shrieked from the doorway. I hadn't even noticed that Simon, Sebastian and Maryse left. But they were back. "You horrible child! Why would you be so mean to that poor girl?"

I shrugged. It wasn't going to get any better, so I might as well make it interesting. "I wasn't being mean. Just honest." I smirked.

"J-Jonathan?" I heard a whimper from beside me. Clary's hands were trembling violently.

"Jace, Jonathan, whatever you want to call him, Clarissa."

"Breaking news: I don't care," I mumble, beginning to walk away.

"God, Jace!" Izzy said. "Just don't say anything unless you mean it. And if you mean it, you better be damn well ready to prove it."

"Okay, let's calm down here. Too much tension." Sebastian interrupts. "We need to go to the basement. Alec's down there and he wants to tell us something."

Izzy perks up. "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you, I accidentally-"

"Save it, Queenie. My drums won't play themselves." Sebastian says irritably.

"Oh, come on. Best you got? Clichés are for weak people," Isabelle snapped.

There was a soft thump and red curls were sprawled over the marble as Clary unconsciously hit the floor.


	4. Chapter 4: Emo

Chapter 4: Emo

JPOV

"Izzy, I'm not very comfortable with carrying Clary bridal style," I said to her whilst cautiously walking down the stairs into the basement with Clary in my arms. Sebastian was still snickering in front of me, making the occasional attempt to thump her forehead. Mature, Seb, mature.

"By the angel, guys, I thought you'd never get here," a familiar voice sounded from across the room. My adoptive brother, Alec was tuning his bass guitar on the sofa next to Jordan who was practising chords on his synthesizer. "By the way, Jace, did you learn the lyrics for _Welcome to the Black Parade_?"

"Most of it. Why do we have to go so emo now with these songs? What happened to metal?"

"I think Izzy would care to explain." I set Clary carelessly down on the sofa.

Izzy bit her lip. "Cosmo Forte is kind of signed up for a competition."

"WHAT THE HELL, IZZY?"

"I'm sorry! I thought it said Emmy Band Competition on the sheet! As in the awards, you know?! So, frankly, I put my name and number down, and then they said it was an _Emo _Band Competition. I'm sorry...but I said that Cosmo Forte'll do it."

"Dammit, Izzy, seriously?" I yelled.

"My reaction exactly," Jordan sighed, coming up behind me. "What was an Emmy Band Competition meant to do in the first place? That doesn't even make sense."

"I don't know," Isabelle snapped, stomping her foot on the step. "I was too caught up in the Emmy part that I didn't really think."

Sebastian chuckled quietly in the corner. "Remember when you signed up for that pageant thinking it was an advent calendar? And you got chosen at random so you could get the chocolate? That was funny."

"Yeah, well, I didn't have my contacts on then either."

"So, about the competition, when is it?" Sebastian asked her, only getting a shrug in response.

"I don't know. Sometime next month. _Fall Out Boy _and _My Chemical Romance_ are sponsoring the contest, though."

"By the angel! _FALL OUT BOY AND MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE?!" _A high-pitched voice came from near Alec. We whirled around simultaneously to be met with wide and shocked green eyes.

From next to me, Jordan gasped under his breath. "You know emo bands, Clary?"

"Heck, yeah I do! They're seriously sponsoring that competition?" Clary said excitedly, getting up from her cramped position on the couch. She seemed to forget everything that had just happened.

"Whoa, Clary. You just fainted. Don't get too eager," Izzy exclaimed, rushing over to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, shrugging off Isabelle's hands from her shoulders. "Nice basement, I guess." She looked around, eyeing my guitars hooked up on the walls.

"What happened upstairs?" I blurted out before thinking about it. _Seriously, Jace? Subtle._

Clary's eyes immediately darkened. "Nothing. Too much time with you, I guess."

I glared at her evocatively, only to come across the same look of determination from Clary, her eyes also narrowed. I had to admit, she was confident. A little stupid for doing it, but confident.

"Come on, Shrimp, we all know I'm stunningly attractive. And oh so gifted with words..."

"Don't you have to have talent in order to have an ego?"

I turned on my heel abruptly to look at her. God, she was so irritating! I stalked over to her, grabbing her hair and pulling her short frame up to mine. "Wow, Weasley, next level up, huh?" I murmured. Clary's face was so close to mine...the panic in her eyes was evident. I leaned in closer-

Only to be wrenched backward, the back of my shirt grasped in someone's hand. "God, Jace, you just don't know when to stop!" I looked up to see squared glasses and livid brown eyes boring intently into mine. "You're such an _idiot!_ I know I'm not as strong as you, so don't even go there, Jace. But that won't stop me from trying to protect my best friend from you and Sebastian every day. I'm still surprised you haven't attacked her yet. You've had long enough."

"Well," I hissed back, "With you, Izzy, Jordan and Alec constantly around me I don't have a chance."

"Just _stop_ it, Jace! Can't you see you hurt her enough already? Just stay away!"

"Stay away? Clary's the easiest victim yet. She doesn't even fight. She lets you do the dirty work for her."

"Are you forgetting that I punched you, Jace?" Clary griped from behind.

"She _what, _dude?" Jordan snorted. "Oh my god, Clary punched you!"

"Shut. Up," I breathed. "Why do you even hang around me anyway if you detest me so much?"

"For the band. For Cosmo Forte."

"You don't have to be in the band. Guitarists are easy to replace. Especially you, Simon. It's not like have the best strumming technique-"

Suddenly, Simon lunged at me.

SPOV (Simon)

I have never known anyone as infuriating and aggravating as Jace Herondale. The massive ego of his was only boosted by him being the lead singer of Cosmo Forte. _I _was the one who wrote all the song lyrics. Notes. Organised gigs. All Jace did was exasperatingly turn up to practice late and use his voice, in which I have in turn heard enough of for a lifetime.

But really? Insulting my best friend, Clary _and _my guitar skills too? He was too maddening to stay sane.

So I attacked him myself. We were sprawled across the floor, knocking into Sebastian's drums. I didn't really think about it, as Jace was more experienced in physical fighting than I was, but I still lunged at him. The occasional punch and kick left us both knocked for breath, and soon the whole basement was a complete mess, with Isabelle standing motionless, and Clary with her mouth agape in the middle of the room. The other boys were just laughing under their breath.

A pain unlike one I have experienced before shot up through my arm, causing me to bend it at an unnatural and uncomfortable angle until it was slightly bearable.

"Simon, honey, are you okay?" Isabelle gasped, running forwards to me.

"Izzy! Shh!"

"By. The. Angel." Clary croaked. "Honey? Don't tell me. Please. Don't tell me..."

"Oh yeah. Clary, one more thing..." Isabelle began, "Simon and I are dating."

CPOV

Oh my god. Are they serious? My two best friends, the ones I have relied on forever, are together? As in _together_ together? And they didn't even tell me?

"Si...why didn't you tell me?" I enquired more harshly than I meant.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how. We thought you'd be really mad-"

"Well, what do you think I am now? How long have you been dating?"

"A few months now but-"

I cut him off again. "A few _months_? God, Si, I would have been fine with it!" _Liar, Clary._ "But no. You pity me, right? You pity me because of Jace and Sebastian, and that I'm short and redheaded, right? Yeah." I looked towards Jace, who was already staring at me. I huffed and stormed back up the stairs.

IPOV (Isabelle)

Ugh. We should have told her. Yes, of course we pitied her, but still.

"Are you alright, Simon?" I repeat. I felt guilty, but Simon must have been feeling worse.

He winced as I touched his arm, attempting to change the position it was angled. His elbow was pointed to his head and his hand was twisted to the left.

"Not really, Izzy, considering how my arm looks. Thanks a lot, Jace," he groaned. "Looks like you'll get your guitar replacement after all."

I gasped. "What about the competition? You have only a month to learn those emo songs! You can't do any metal..." Simon just gestured gratingly at Jace, who smirked.

It was Jordan who broke the silence. "Okay, dude, we better get you to the hospital first..."

"What about the party tonight?" I enquired. "Simon has to be there for that!"

Jordan shrugged. "I don't know, Izzy. See what the doctor says."

I decided to go up after Clary. She would probably be very annoyed with me, but I still need to see what's up. When did I turn into such an idiot?

I pounded up the stairs, and looked around for Clary. Since she didn't know her way around my house very well, I considered that she probably took the most recognisable route to my room.

Surely enough, I found her there, staring out the window.

"Hey. I'm sorry. We should have told you sooner." Clary didn't say anything for a while. "Simon's going to the hospital. His arm's bad."

"Is he okay?"

"Well...umm...his arm is...not good. As I said."

An awkward silence followed. Abruptly, Clary stands up. "Wait a second – if Simon's hurt his arm, then who will play lead guitar for Cosmo Forte in the competition?"

"I don't know, it wasn't the main point of discussion down in the basement. I asked, but to avail...Wait. Wait a sec...Wait. Wait! Oh my god, wait!" The thought hit me and I was all of a sudden energized.

"I'm waiting..." Clary sighed, tapping her foot against the wood of my bedroom floor.

"You play guitar, Clary!" The memory of hearing her in one of the practice rooms at school came back to me.

"How did you know about that?" Clary stood up hastily, a twisted expression distorting her freckles.

"I heard you one time, last year or something, practising. It was amazing. I remember!"

"Please, don't tell anyo-" Clary began but was interrupted.

Clary and I turned around to face the doorway.

"Didn't know you played, Shrimp," Jace concluded whilst leaning against the doorframe.


End file.
